After a punishing snowstorm Sunday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city is making progress and garbage removal and other city services will return this weekend.

City officials said they plan to resume home trash pickup this weekend, starting with homes that have their garbage removed from the front of the home.

“If your household normally gets front side collection, we will begin to pick up your trash tomorrow,” Bowser said Friday. “This weekend, we want to do the front side collections for Monday and Tuesday.”

The city is about a week behind on trash collection, so on Monday, they will collect for last Wednesday; and Tuesday’s pickup is actually last Thursday’s. It will be like this until the city gets back on a regular schedule.

For homes that have alley pickups, the city plans to use Bobcat machinery to get garbage cans that are trapped in snow and ice.

Mayor Bowser gave an optimistic status report on the snow and ice removal, despite many residents voicing complaints about snow- and ice-covered streets and sidewalks days after the storm.

In her three terms as mayor, Bowser said she’s never seen a storm that began with 6-plus inches of snow and then 10 hours of sleet, leaving streets and sidewalks coated in ice.

The mayor also said National Guard troops, which have been on D.C. streets since the summertime, are also pitching in.

“Some National Guard personnel have been approved to work with us, and we will be giving them some assignments related to clearing pathways for pedestrians to get to and from buses,” she said.

The D.C. National Guard also announced Friday evening its members would be helping remove snow at D.C.’s public schools, at the request of D.C. government. Those efforts will begin Saturday.

Overall, the mayor would not give herself or city officials a letter grade on the city’s performance — she said that is up to residents to decide. But she said 250 city plows and 130 contractors have been on the job since the first snowflake fell and she pointed to the fact that numerous downtown events have still been held, including the Washington D.C. Auto Show.

The mayor pointed out that the extreme cold temperatures have made the snow and ice removal even more difficult, because there has been no day above freezing this week and no melting.

“We are also urging our residents to take advantage of the sunlight and the increased temperatures next week to take care of your walkways and sidewalks. And if you don’t have that equipment, work together, in your neighborhood,” she said.

The D.C. Department of Public Works offers a sidewalk shoveling exemption to qualifying residents 65 or older for not removing snow from their sidewalks. D.C. workers do not shovel residents’ sidewalks, but the city has multiple programs, including D.C. Snow Team Heroes, that can help.

There’s no word yet when the city will restart its enforcement of fines for sidewalks that are not shoveled.

This weekend, the city will be distributing free salt at five distribution sites to help residents address the icy conditions. Signing up in advance is recommended.

From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., residents who bring their own bucket or bag to carry salt can pick it up at the following locations:

• Deanwood Recreation Center (1350 49th Street NE)
• Greenleaf Recreation Center (201 N Street SW)
• Kennedy Recreation Center (1401 7th St NW)
• Turkey Thicket Recreation Center (1100 Michigan Avenue NE)
• Wilson Aquatic Center (4551 Fort Drive NW)

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WASHINGTON – It’s been one year since the tragic midair collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter claimed the lives of 67 people. 

The crash left families shattered and hearts broken. Family, friends and loved ones of the victims have had to reconcile with the tragedy, while 

On this first anniversary, family members of the people who died in the crash joined FOX 5’s Katie Barlow for a special discussion honoring their loved ones.

Families, first responders reflect one year after the DCA plane crash

The backstory:

On Jan. 29, American Airlines Flight 5342 was preparing to touchdown at Ronald Reagan National Airport when air traffic controllers asked pilots if they could land the jet on a shorter runway a few minutes before landing, and they said they were able. 

Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight-tracking sites showed the plane adjusting its approach to the new runway. 

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the Black Hawk if it had the arriving plane in sight. 

NTSB Chairwoman reflects on DCA plane crash investigation nearly 1 year later

The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, telling them, “PAT 25, pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided. 

The wreckage tumbled into the icy Potomac River, and all 67 people on board — 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Eagle jetliner, and three people on board the military helicopter — were killed in the crash. 

It marked the deadliest U.S. air disaster in almost 25 years.

Just this week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a major hearing on the crash, blaming deep systemic failures by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Army crew and air traffic operations for the crash. 

Investigators said the tragedy was preventable, pointing to a helicopter route too close to the airport’s runway, poor communication, malfunctioning equipment and warnings about close calls that went unheeded.

The victims:

The 67 people on board the American Airlines flight and the Blackhawk helicopter all tragically lost their lives that cold January night.  

READ MORE: Figure skating community honors plane crash victims

Below is a list of the victims on board the flight or the helicopter. 

• Everly Livingston
• Alydia Livingston
• Donna Livingston
• Peter Livingston
• Franco Aparicio
• Luciano Aparicio
• Edward Zhou, and his parents Kiyan and Joe
• Cory Haynos, and his parents Stephanie and Roger
• Brielle Beyer and her mom Justyna
• Spencer Lane
• Christine Lane
• Jinna Han
• Jin Han
• Olivia Ter and her mom Oleysa
• Jesse Pitcher
• Tommy Clagget
• Mikey Stovall
• Jon Boyd
• Steve Johnson
• Charles McDaniel
• Alex Huffman
• Andrew Eaves
• Vikesh Patel
• Elizabeth Keys
• Sarah Best
• Casey Crafton
• Sean Kay and his mother Yulia
• Asra Hussain
• Evgenia Shishkova
• Vadim Naumov
• Inna Volyanskaya
• Ryan O’Hara
• Kiah Duggins
• Ian Epstein
• Tim Lilley
• Jonathan Campos
• Wendy Shaffer